EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Acquires 18,929 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 214.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,750 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 18,929 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $1.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $172.76. 2,549,666 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,897,810. The company has a market capitalization of $114.38 billion, a PE ratio of 97.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.50 and a 52-week high of $208.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $187.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.31.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 235,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.32, for a total transaction of $43,170,393.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $199,159,581.28. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total value of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 358,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. This represents a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,122,864 shares of company stock worth $204,315,811 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating and set a $196.40 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.06.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.